The use of movable bulkheads in swimming pools to provide a predetermined distance barrier for swimmers in competition, recreational swimmers or those who swim for health and exercise is well known. Attempts have been made to provide artificial barriers; i.e., bulkheads, that are transportable, can be readily moved along the sides of a pool to accommodate for different distances, and which are resistant to twisting or torque action after being secured in place in a swimming pool.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,484 to Stark discloses a swimming pool bulkhead equipped with lateral wheels to facilitate moving the bulkhead up and down the length of a pool. U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,599 to Stark also discloses a swimming pool bulkhead having end rollers for moving a bulkhead up and down the length of a swimming pool. U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,735 to Davidson discloses a motorized mechanism for moving a swimming pool bulkhead up and down the length of a swimming pool. U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,404 to Stark discloses a swimming pool bulkhead having buoyancy tanks at the outward ends of the bulkhead compartments to facilitate moving the bulkhead. U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,219 discloses a swimming pool bulkhead having buoyancy tanks at opposite ends of the bulkhead and at selected transverse locations to facilitate raising the bulkhead uniformly.
While these prior art swimming pool bulkheads provide useful improvements in overall bulkhead designs, they do not completely minimize or eliminate torque or twisting of the bulkhead, nor do they compensate for differences in weight distribution along the length of the bulkhead, nor do they facilitate movement of the bulkhead without adding costly and heavy mechanisms, and they do not compensate for a swimmer's "bow wave" as the swimmer approaches the bulkhead which, in competitive events, can mean the difference between winning and losing.